Shield Therapeutics PLC (AIM:STX, OTCQX:SHIEF) said it is "very" optimistic about the future as it gears up for a full US commercial push of its lead asset, the iron deficiency drug Accrufer.
With cash in the bank at the end of last month of £19.2mln, it is well funded for the roll-out. At the same time, it is on course to have completed the recruitment and training of its newly expanded sales team by the start of May.
“With the new commercial organisation and resources in place, Shield Therapeutics believes it has the potential to increase its visibility, prescriptions, and revenues,” investors were told.
“The company expects to see significant results in the second half of 2023 as the sales team reaches its full potential.”
The commentary came alongside full-year results from the group, which also outlined the group’s four-phase go-to-market strategy.
The plan (and the firm’s in-house team) will be supported by Viatris, the US healthcare company that inked a sales agreement with Shield last year.
Impressive strides were made in 2022, with over 25,000 prescriptions written for its Accrufer product and strong quarter-on-quarter growth. The majority of the 2,230 healthcare providers who wrote scripts for Accrufer in 2022 were first-time prescribers.
The first quarter of 2023 has seen a step-change in demand with 10,500 prescriptions written.
“Early [first-quarter] indicators are encouraging and show that our new US commercial strategy with Viatris for Accrufer is gaining good traction,” said chief executive Greg Madison.
“March provided a strong conclusion to [the first quarter] and a springboard for the rest of the year as we see notable upticks across several key performance areas such as first-time prescribers and new prescriptions.
“We achieved this with less than one-third of our combined targeted sales team promoting Accrufer, including some of whom are just a month out of training. The combination of a complete sales team from Shield and our partner, Viatris, plus a strong first quarter and standout March, gives us confidence in the 2023 growth outlook for Accrufer.”
Turning to the financials, Shield increased its revenues three-fold to £4.5mln in the 12 months ended 31 December 2022, with £2.9mln generated from Accrufer sales. Investment in the US commercial ramp-up meant the company booked a loss of £24.6mln.